1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a biological information recognition apparatus and a method for selectively activating, by the biological information recognition apparatus, a plurality of piezoelectric elements. More particularly, the present invention relates to a biological information recognition apparatus which may be used to identify a user by recognizing biological information, such as the fingerprint, blood vessels, and bones of a finger of the user, and a method for driving the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a methodology in which a plurality of piezoelectric elements included in the biological information recognition apparatus is individually activated and biological information is scanned using a method different from a conventional method by selectively activating the plurality of piezoelectric elements. Furthermore, the present invention is directed to forming the piezoelectric elements on a substrate in a pattern of a form which is different from a conventional pattern of a matrix form and more efficiently identifying biological information.
2. Description of the Related Art
User authentication may be said to be an essential procedure in performing all of financial transactions. More specifically, as there is a growing interest in mobile finance with the recent development of networks and portable terminals, there is an increasing demand for a rapid and accurate user authentication apparatus and authentication method.
The fingerprint of a finger of a user is one of authentication media capable of satisfying such a demand. Many businessmen and developers continue to develop an apparatus and method capable of authentication using the fingerprint of a user.
In relation to a fingerprint recognition apparatus, active research is recently carried out on a so-called ultrasonic method for identifying the form of a fingerprint by generating ultrasonic waves, which is different from a conventional method for capturing an image of a fingerprint using an optical method.
Various technical spirits are required to check biological information about a user as an ultrasonic signal. The present invention relates to a method for scanning biological information about a user, more precisely, unique personal information, such as the shapes of the fingerprint, blood vessels, and bones of a finger, in what pattern. More specifically, in an embodiment of the present invention, an efficient scanning pattern can be implemented by selectively activating a plurality of piezoelectric elements formed on a substrate.
The present invention has been invented based on such a technical background and also has been invented to satisfy the aforementioned technical needs and to provide additional technical elements that may not be easily invented by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.